Ghost of Myself
by Erratta
Summary: Vlad loses it after Kindred Spirits and destroys the world as we know it. Now he regrets the descision and goes back in time to fix everything. However, it's not as easy as could be hoped and he faces problems at every turn.
1. Reflection

**Ghost of Myself**

_Okay, so the results of my poll were pretty evenly split between The Phantom and Role Reversal, now Ghost of Myself, so I'm going to post the first chapters at the same time and pick which one to write most often based on the reactions. I'm going to write both, but updates will be pretty slow as a result, especially since Comedy of Errors is going to be started soon as well._

**Chapter 1: Reflection**

The world is dead.

I float over a tangle of glass, concrete, and metal that stretches around me as far as I can see. Small patches of green are beginning to poke through the devastation. Ten years ago, this was New York, one of the world's centers for business and art. It was destroyed in a day, like every other city on the planet. Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Paris, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo. All ruins now.

Almost no one survived the attacks on the cities. Those that did fled to the country and the smaller towns, thinking they would be safe. The people there took them in, harboured them. But they didn't have the weapons they needed, and it took only a month to reduce the rest of the world to smoking ruins. There are still groups of people scattered here and there, living off the land. I stopped hunting them after a year, when I realized they were no longer a threat. All the technology had been destroyed, and I was unstoppable.

The human armies didn't stand a chance. They didn't know how to fight legions of the undead, especially with projectile technology. All my armies had to do was become intangible when the humans were shooting. They were able to fly into any city, any town, any country without resistance. Don't get me wrong, the world did start mass-producing ecto-weapons as soon as the attacks began, but the war was over in two months. They didn't even have a chance to arm their armies with what little they'd been able to produce.

Daniel is dead. He and his friends pushed themselves to their limits to stop me, but there were too many ghosts and they were too few. Even Daniel's Wail was no match for the hordes of ghosts I had released into the world. His friends died first, quickly, and without much pain. After Samantha died, Daniel seemed to find new energy in his attempt to take me down. Unfortunately, he wore himself down too much and made himself weak. I hit his ghost half with a blast during the very last battle of the war, and he fell to the ground in agony. He changed back to human during the fall, and the impact broke his back. He died slowly, in pain. I'd like to say now that I wept over his body, that I apologized to him as I watched him die. Instead, I taunted him. His last memory was of his archenemy laughing at his death throes, telling him how pathetic he was.

Maddie only survived the two months of fighting because I had ordered her life to be spared, but seeing the world in ruins and her son's body hit her hard. When I came for her, she put up the fight of her life, but I eventually subdued her. When I brought her to my castle and revealed myself to her, she screamed. Listening to her grief was agony. I had anticipated this, of course, but I had forgotten how strong human emotions could be. Maddie refused to speak or eat while in my care, and died a month later of grief. I never had the chance to enjoy myself with her. She just folded in upon herself and the rest of the world became a dream.

My plan succeeded, apart from Maddie. I now have complete control over the world and its resources, what little is left of them after three centuries of human exploitation. A ghost empire is in place with myself at the head. I have the fear and respect of every being on the planet, living and dead, and more power than I ever dreamed of. Until two years ago, it was enough to be able to fulfill any wish or desire I had. Then I woke up one day and realized that I had killed all the beauty in the world. There was no longer anything to enjoy, anything to admire, anything to fulfill the needs of my human half. There was no love, only fear and hate and thirst for domination. Ghost feelings, nothing solid, nothing alive. I needed something to attach myself to. I had become drunk with power, consumed with hate, and I no longer wanted it. I wanted my humanity back. I needed my humanity back.

How did I sink to this? I don't know, exactly. I remember Daniel, in my lab, fighting me with every fiber of his being. When he released his Ghostly Wail, I realized that he had become more powerful than me, that he was still learning what he was capable of, that he would never give in to me. I could never have him, I could never defeat him. So I gave up, in a way. If I couldn't have love, I would have hate. If I couldn't enjoy life, I would enjoy death. If I couldn't have a quiet life, then neither would anyone else. I planned for three years, building weapons, gaining the trust of humans, forming alliances I would later turn on. And then I opened the portals at my castle and at FentonWorks, Daniel's home. The hordes of ghosts I had gotten on my side poured out, silently, grouped around the major cities as I had instructed. The rest, as they say, is history.

I've tried for two years to get some form of life and happiness and peace into my existence. It hasn't worked. I am feared by ghost and human alike, and there is no pleasure left that fulfills me. When I formed the plans for this world, I did it too well. I achieved my goals, but cannot reverse the damage I've done. Am I doomed to watch this world sink further and further into death? Must I keep pretending to have my heart in this?

There is only one course of action now, though I am afraid to take it. This future must be prevented, but to do it I must go back and stop myself. I have a plan forming in my mind, but it will be demanding. I need Daniel on my side, but winning his trust will be difficult after all I've done to make him hate me. Finding Clockwork in this mess of a world will be hard as well, since he distances himself from reality. But I must find him. I must stop this.

I must stop me.


	2. Time For Change

_Thanks to Pterodactyl, Oystiee, The Person Who Rights, 4400fan, purrbaby101, kacey, and heavensong. _

Chapter 2: Time for Change 

I can see Clockwork's lair up ahead, still as foreboding as ever. It feels even more so today, looming in the distance. It's dark and menacing, even with those ridiculous gears. I've never been here before, though like all ghosts I know where it is. There's an unspoken agreement in the Ghost Zone that Clockwork be left alone, unless absolutely necessary. It's necessary now. I hope he sees that.

I can't believe I'm worried about this. I suppose it's just that I'm not used to eating crow, and especially don't want to start it with Clockwork, who can see all pasts and all futures. He'll be resistant to my plea, and it will be difficult to convince him to let me return. From my brief knowledge of him, I know he makes a persuasive opponent, and it will stretch me to my limits to argue my case. I'm no lawyer. I'm just a businessman with superpowers who has seen the error of his ways too late.

I alight in the medieval hall of the time ghost's fortress and move softly down the corridor to where I believe his sanctuary to be. I just wish that my reformation had been a literal one as well. I know that my nightmarish appearance, with spiked hair and fangs, will detract from my plea, and may even turn him against me completely. I hope that his age and vocation will help him see the person behind the body, the man behind the ghost. I'd show him the man, but I have more confidence in this form, and more of an ability to defend myself if need be. Clockwork is one of the few ghosts I was unable to convert to my cause, and one of the few whose psychology I am unable to work out.

I've reached the doors to the sanctum now, and am about to place my hands on the gears that serve as doorknobs, when a voice issues from within. It is deep and rich with age and wisdom, and it strikes at my soul.

"Welcome, Plasmius. What is your business here?"

He knew I was coming. Does he know the outcome of my visit as well? I must play along regardless.

"I am here to ask a favour of you, Clockwork."

I try to keep my voice steady and strong. Weakness has no place here yet. I must wear my intentions on my sleeve if I hope to get anywhere.

"You wish to change your past, do you not?"

"No," I reply. That is not how I would word my plans. "I wish to change my future."

"Then you may enter."

The doors swing open of their own accord and I step into a cavernous room resembling the inside of a clock tower. A hooded ghost is floating at its far end, his back to me. A round screen is before him, images playing across it. I see explosions and running figures. I swallow and steal myself for the walk of fear that I must now take.

This is an old trick. People of power have used long marches like this one to incite fear in their lessers, to emphasize their status, and to coax information from the mouths of those who do not wish to give it since the very beginning of recorded history. Even I have been known to use them on occasion, particularly against the survivors that rose against me five years ago. The walk accomplished its task then, and is doing so again now. Every step brings my nerves closer to their breaking point. I fight to quell them and to remain calm. I expect the ghost in front of me to speak or attack at any moment. I wish he would, to ease the tension.

Finally I am standing a respectful distance from the ghost who will make or break me. Clockwork, who safeguards time and maintains the course of history. He has not turned to face me, and I am reluctant to make the first move. His purple cloak billows around him, and in his gloved hand is a grey staff topped with an alarm clock. His size changes periodically, and I assume this is the shift between childhood, manhood, and old age that I have heard of from my research. The images in the screen dim and disappear, and only then does he turn to face me.

He looks at me sternly but not unkindly, his red eyes seeming to bore into me and probe my mind. Perhaps they are. He speaks again, from the bearded, wrinkled face of his oldest form.

"You are not happy with the life you have created for yourself? You seem to take so much pleasure in it."

He gestures towards the green circle behind him and it comes to life with pictures of me, standing in an office signing papers, looming over a captive Daniel, hovering over still-smoking ruins and laughing. I see myself surrounded by wealth, by servants, with every luxury at my fingertips. Every image of me is smiling. My stomach turns and I back away. I don't want to see this. I don't want to be reminded. I finally find my voice again.

"No. I was happy, those pictures prove it, but I was not in my right mind. I am now, and cannot bear the knowledge of my actions any longer. I am here to right my wrongs."

Clockwork shifts to childhood and his expression becomes quizzical, and softer, but perhaps that is just a consequence of his appearance, or the hoping of a weary old man.

"How do you plan to do that?"

"I need you to send me back, to where this all started." My voice sounds thin and tense in the empty chamber. "I have to talk myself into aborting my plan for domination. I have to stop this from ever happening."

"Is that not also selfish of you? You do not wish to feel remorse, so you aim to rid yourself of it."

The accusation angers me, and I reply perhaps with too much vehemence, but get myself under control soon.

"I deserve to feel this way, Clockwork. Any sane person would see that. I want to prevent this future so that those that died at my orders may live."

"And what would become of you afterwards, Plasmius? Your future, the one you created, would disappear, and you with it." Clockwork has changed to the form of a young man now.

"If I must, I must. All that matters is that I stop myself from annihilating the world."

I am aware from my scientific studies that time can split itself at major junctures to form alternate realities, and I know that Clockwork has control over these as well. I am sure he knows that I know this, so do not mention it. I do not need to die at the end of my quest. I can return to my timeline and live out the rest of my days in the personal hell I made for myself. But he's given me the worst case scenario to see how I handle it, and I am prepared to take that course as well.

"You plan to get young Phantom involved, don't you?" he asks me, shifting form again. "You know you cannot handle this task alone."

If I were Vlad Masters right now, instead of Vlad Plasmius, I might have blushed. Yes, I did know that I would not be a match for my enraged self, the one who had lost all positive emotions and no longer checked himself or thought rationally. Yes, I hoped that Daniel would help me, that he would play the hero as he always did. Yes, I wish neither fact was true.

The look on my face must have answered his question, for he continues.

"Then there is something you need to know of his past. Do you see that alcove?" He gestures with his staff, and I follow the movement with my eyes. There is something on a pedestal deep in its shadows, but I cannot make it out.

"That is a Fenton Thermos. Inside it is the most powerful ghost ever created. He is a mixture of Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius, and in one timeline took control of both this world and yours. He destroyed everything he contacted, out of pleasure, and with very little effort. Danny defeated him after I called him in to help, and the Thermos now rests here until the threat of Dark Phantom's existence is finally over."

I listen in silence, amazed at what I hear. Daniel _also_ has an evil self, but was able to overcome it, and to beat it? Perhaps he will be more sympathetic to my cause than I thought. And I appeared to be partly responsible for the ghost too. I wonder how it happened.

"I will send you back, Plasmius. But if I see anything I do not like, or anything that may damage this stream further, I shall recall you."

"I expect nothing less of you," I say. He hangs a gear-shaped medallion around my neck, then taps the top of his alarm-clock staff.

"Time out."

I find myself hanging above my hunting lodge, Clockwork beside me. He gives a brief nod without even looking in my direction.

"Time in."

He's gone. I tuck the medallion into my clothing and look down again at the lodge. I do not know when I am, only where. To enact my plan, I must know both. I fly down and land in the library just as a scream of agony rips up through the floorboards.

_A/N: So, this is my first angsty story, and it's definitely a change for me. Feels kind of nice to be serious, though. Let me know how I'm doing, please._


	3. Confrontation

_**Sorry for the wait, folks! I haven't been in an angsty mood lately and something called a "life" to deal with on the side. If it's any consolation, I'm about halfway finished Spirit Series Number Four… Thanks to The Person Who Rig**hts, iluvlucy7, Sunshine Silverjojo, definenormalAB, purrbaby101, Pterodactyl, heavensong, animegurl088, and danny0709. _

Chapter 3: Confrontation 

The cry two floors below me allows me to place myself in time. This is the day it all began, the day I truly became a monster. Being a half-ghost may have made me different from everyone but Daniel, and I may have been an arrogant, selfish criminal for most of my life, but neither of those facts truly made me a _monster_. Human history is full of people who did far worse things than I did before my perfect clone was destroyed.

No, today is the day I resolved to destroy anything and everything I came in contact with, the day that led to my complete control over the world and the Ghost Zone in three years time, and _that_ is why I am a monster. I am responsible for the deaths of over six billion people, and the only reason I can offer is that I _wanted to_. And that, of course, is why I'm here. I need to reason with the man whose heart I heard breaking just a moment ago.

I let myself sink slowly into the lab, cautious because I don't know how Plasmius will react to me. The place is in shambles, with containment chambers on the floor and glass, metal, and ectoplasm everywhere. My past self is huddled in a ball in the middle of the floor, wracked with sobs. I remember how he feels. Everything he worked for and everything he ever wanted has just slipped from his grasp for good. The clones are destroyed except for the best one, who hates him, Daniel has been given yet another reason to despise him, and even computers cannot be programmed to love him. He is all alone in the world, and powerless to change that. It was the powerlessness, I think, that finally pushed me over the edge. I'd become addicted to control and fixated on Maddie and Daniel

Plasmius has stopped shaking visibly and is simply hunched over in the same position, unmoving. I cannot bring myself to rouse him, remembering what he's going through, so I wait, still floating in the corner. After twenty minutes, he squares his shoulders and stand up. I recoil at the thought of the manic leer that is surely on his face. Plasmius turns around and sees me, then transforms to his ghost form on instinct. An ectoblast forms in his hand unconsciously.

"You don't know the consequences of what you're planning, Plasmius," I say, as calmly as I possibly can. "You don't want to do this."

"Who are you?" he asks angrily, paranoia showing on his face and in his voice. "How do you know what I'm planning?" The ectoblast is growing now, and I eye it warily. I wouldn't put it past myself to attack me.

"I'm you, Plasmius, or I was once, at least. You're going to regret it. In ten years, you will have your own personal hell. I guarantee it."

"Why?" he sneers. "Because I kill people? Because I have _control_? Those are ghostly desires, fool, and I, _we_, are a _ghost_!" He releases the blast to accent the end of the sentence. I can't avoid it in time and hit the wall behind me, hard.

"No!" I shout from where I've fallen on the floor. "We're only _half_-ghost. Our human side needs things too!"

"My human side is dead," he replies coldly, advancing again and determined to destroy this look-alike intruder before him. I never realized what I look like from the receiving end of my rage. This isn't good. I'm caught. Plasmius is too mad to reason with effectively, too absorbed with anger, grief, and pain to listen. Fighting, even in self-defense, is only going to fuel that. I know from experience that battles bring out the anger and madness inside me. I don't dare think what could happen when so much of that is already displayed on Plasmius's face.

I take the third option available to me and sink into the floor. The coward's route, but I'm at ease with that now. I don't need to maintain appearances to have the upper hand here. I'm the sane one, after all.

I need to speak with Daniel and pray to God that Plasmius doesn't follow me. I can't take him on alone, at least for a few more days. I need him to descend back into that deluded semi-rationality again.

---

By the time I arrive in Amity Park, it's nearly midnight. Perfect. Daniel will be alone now. I can talk to him in private, without the unwanted advice of his friends and sister.

This is going to be a bittersweet reunion, and a difficult one. The last time I saw Daniel was seven years in my past, when I killed him. The last time he saw me I was trying to clone him. It's too soon for him to have gotten over that.

I enter Daniel's room and walk over to his bed, becoming human as I do so. I place my hand on the lump of his shoulder underneath the covers and shake it gently. I shake him again when there is no response, and still he doesn't move. I pull the covers back to wake him. I _must_ talk to him tonight.

Muffins! The boy isn't there. I've fallen for the age-old trick of clothing covered by bedsheets. Daniel's out fighting. You'd think he'd know better given the amount of trouble he's surely in for "running off" to Colorado. Or how worn out he must be from his ordeal there. But he always was one to act rashly, and fighting ghosts is his "duty."

I leave the house the way I came, through the wall, flying, and eventually locate Daniel trying to take down an ant the size of a small car. The boy is barely able to dodge the insect's lunges at him, and his aim is wildly off. He's going to collapse any minute now from exhaustion. Once I get close enough to aim properly, I send a blast at the ant's torso, sending it hurtling down the street. It lands and twitches slightly before Daniel catches it in that Thermos of his. Then it seems to hit him that he had help and he whirls around, ectoblasts flickering on his fists. He can't even hold them stable.

"What do you want now, Plasmius?" he growls. "Haven't you done enough to me today?"

"I'm not here to hurt you, Daniel," I say soothingly, catching him by the shoulders to hold him up. "I need your help."

He squirms his shoulders from my grasp angrily. "You're not getting any more of my DNA, Vlad."

"I don't want DNA," I explain firmly. "I need you to help me stop Plasmius."

Daniel looks at me blankly. Right. I'd forgotten that to him Plasmius, the twisted villain in Colorado, and me, the Vlad of the future, are one and the same. I go on, giving him more information.

"Plasmius, the Vlad you fought today, is going to destroy the world. _Completely_ destroy it, Daniel. I'm from the future," here I show him the Time Medallion around my neck, "and know what happens. I regret every moment of it, Daniel, and need to stop myself. And I _need_ you to help, Daniel. I can't do it alone, and you've done this before."

His gaze flickers between my face, which hopefully looks sincere and concerned, and the Medallion for several minutes. He's obviously working things out and calculating the possibilities. Finally he goes human and sighs.

"All right, Vlad, I'm listening. But I'm not saying yes yet."


	4. Understandings

_Yay for me! I'm actually updating this! You can thank my super boring English prof for that. Sorry for the massive delay. Thanks to Sparky the Wonder Weasel, crazymonkey101, heavensong, Fate Dagger, Dark Dazgar, Snickerer, and Toronado Silverwind for their interest. _

Chapter 4: Understandings 

_I don't own Danny Phantom._

Daniel and I are sitting on the top of the Op Center now, gazing out over Amity Park, its buildings still mercifully intact. It's mid-afternoon.

I took him home last night and told him to sleep. He was barely able to stand up in that street, and I wanted him to be fully functioning for this conversation. I dropped in on his parents earlier this morning, citing a "project" at Axion Labs for my presence, and mentioned at lunch that I'd like to have a chat with their son, to "get to know him better." I had to fight back tears at how welcoming and kind they were, even Jack, whose death I'd relished during the War.

"So start talking," Daniel demands, his arms folded angrily across his chest and his eyes showing a hint of angry green. "What do you want, Vlad?"

"There's no need to get hostile, Danny," I say, slightly offended and for once not faking it, though the name is a different story. I've never understood this penchant for nicknames.

"Danny?" he asks.

"I'm an ally, Danny. I'm not a threat," I say. "You've never liked Daniel. And I thought I'd show you respect. Lord knows I haven't before."

He relaxes slightly and I realize that he's not going to give in to me further, so I begin to explain.

I tell him of the years I spent planning and forming alliances with Walker, Technus, and powerful ghosts unheard of in this world. I tell him of how it took two months, two mere months, to gain control of the planet, though I take care to make the actual methods vague. If Daniel is as powerful as I believe him to be, he'd be more than capable of doing the exact same thing as I. I don't want him getting ideas, especially if he too has a dark side.

I briefly mention what happened to his friends and family, hoping to play off the boy's sympathy. I leave him to assume that in my timeline he too is dead at my hands.

Daniel is shaking with anger now, and before I lose control of the situation, I quickly shift to a topic even closer to his heart.

"I know this sounds familiar to you, Danny. Clockwork showed me the Thermos before bringing me to this time. I regret that I don't know much of what went on, but I do know that an evil version of yourself, from the future, is inside it. Somehow my ghost half helped create him." Daniel tenses, and I think I can guess what is running through his head. Am I here to learn about this ghost, this Dark Phantom, so he can help me keep control of my empire? Am I planning to recreate him?

I sigh and place a hand on Daniel's shoulder. He jerks away, mouth set in a hard, thin line.

"No, Danny," I say softly, "I don't want anything to do with him. By the sounds of it, he's more powerful than either of us can really deal with. Danny, I know you well enough to know you've sworn to prevent that future at all costs, like I have with mine. I can't bear the thought of destruction anymore, Danny, from me or anyone else, and neither can you. You and I are more similar than you and Plasmius, and I need your help to stop him."

"Why?" he asks. "Why should I believe you? And why should I help?"

"I have the Time Medallion, Danny." I pull it out again, then tuck it back into my shirt. We went through this last night. Can't he just accept it that I'm good and move on? Oh, right, he's _fourteen_.

"I couldn't have defeated Clockwork to get it, because he knows my every move before I make it. I need your help because I know how powerful I can get when I'm angry, and I know I won't be able to go up against that alone and win. And I _have to win_. I have to stop myself from killing everyone. Killing Sam. Killing _you_."

"Let me get this straight." Daniel has stood up on the roof and is looking at me with fiery green eyes. He's folded his arms again. "_You_ want _me_ to help _you_ fight a crazy version of yourself which in your timeline has already killed _me_. Except that this crazy Vlad is actually you, so you're really asking me to stop you from creating yourself."

Now that's an interesting way of putting it. Sure, I've been thinking exactly along those lines for a while now, but hearing him say it out loud... When I speak again, my voice is shaking.

"Exactly. And if I die in the process, so be it." I raise a sarcastic eyebrow, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm sure you'd agree that the world would be a better place without me in it."

"If I help you, I'll be endangering myself, Vlad. That's a big risk to take, and you know it."

"Danny, it's going to be two against one. We're both powerful ghosts, I know every move he'll make..."

"You really think Plasmius will go down easy?" He's not believing me. He doesn't think this will work. Sadly, half the time, neither do I.

"I know he won't, Danny. But neither will I and neither will you. We stand a very good chance of winning, especially if we come up with a plan." I pause and get up on my knees to look him in the eyes. I'm desperate, and I'm letting it show. "Please, Danny, I need your help with this. Just think, if I go alone and lose, how will you feel in three years when Plasmius starts attacking through your Portal, hmm?" He glares at me, blinks, and lets his eyes go blue again.

"You're asking a lot, Vlad. I hope you know that." I nod. He goes on.

"I need to think about this, and I need you to leave me alone while I do it. Okay?" I nod again and he transforms. "Good. Go chat with my dad or something. I'll be a while. And if you try anything, I'll know."

With a final glare, Daniel launches himself into the air and heads off towards the park. I stand up fully and stretch, then climb back down into the house. I tell Maddie, who's in the kitchen baking, that the boy is chatting with his friends on his computer, and we strike up a cool but pleasant conversation, punctuated occasionally by minor explosions in the basement.

Daniel comes down the stairs just in time for dinner. The moment his parents' attention is elsewhere, he meets my eyes and nods almost imperceptibly. I nod back, keeping a straight face, though inside I'm rejoicing, and relishing every moment. It's been a long time since I've felt such happiness. Over thirty years. And it's Daniel who's given it to me. Ironic, that.

---

I slip into Daniel's room much later that night, once his family is asleep and I can be alone again. I sit down on the edge of his bed, facing him. He looks asleep, but the moment he feels my weight he pulls himself up and conjures a small light in his hand. My eyebrows raise themselves involuntarily. I didn't know he could do that. I didn't know _any_ ghost could.

"I thought you'd be dropping by," he says. "So, now what?"

"Who have you told about this?" I need to know if anyone else has gotten involved, if anyone else might be endangered.

"No one. I don't want them worrying, and if I do it, they'll come after me. I'm not going to put them in danger. So no one knows. I thought it through alone, and you're right. I'll never forgive myself if I don't help, and I did have your help in _my_ future."

"What!" I thought Clockwork said Plasmius had formed part of Phantom. How could I still be alive? "You'd better tell me the whole story. I've told you mine." Daniel sighs.

"I shoulda seen that coming. I suppose I owe it to you. Just not _here_." He pushes his covers off and transforms. I follow suit, and soon we're flying towards the outlying hills. After about ten minutes of silence, we touch ground in a field. I look at him curiously.

"We won't be seen or heard out here," Daniel explains. He sits down and I do likewise. The boy's face takes on a serious air, more than I've ever seen in a fight. He starts speaking.

"Do you remember hearing about the Nasty Burger blowing up a while back?" I nod. "In the alternate timeline, my family and friends were there, and Mr. Lancer from school. He was going to tell them I'd cheated on the C.A.T.'s."

He _cheated_? This boy who'd fixated on doing good had _cheated_?

"Well, when the Burger blew, they died and I wasn't able to save them. It turned out that you were my legal guardian, so I moved to Wisconsin. You were taking Mom's death hard, but I was blaming myself for everything."

Of course. The silly little hero complex.

"It got so bad I asked you to rip out my ghost half, and you did, to help me. Except that when it came out, it got angry, ripped yours out too, and fused with it. And then he killed my human half, blew up your castle, and took off. I don't really know the details, but ten years later he'd destroyed Amity Park, hurt and killed a lot of ghosts, and everybody was afraid of him. That's when I showed up." Daniel sighs, looking strained. He's bottled all this up, hasn't he? I'm probably the first person to hear the whole story. And that explosion was _months_ ago.

"He stranded me in that time and came back here to make everything happen. I went to Wisconsin, where your human half told me everything and took out the Medallion Phantom stuck in me. I came back here and barely got Phantom into the Thermos before the explosion. It was luck, really. I wouldn't be able to do it again." He's curled himself up into a ball and is on the verge of tears. Feeling incredibly awkward, I lean over and draw him to me. I know how he's feeling, a little. After all, I've _actually_ killed everyone I cared about.

He sobs into my shoulder for five minutes before pulling away and wiping the tears away. His voice cracks slightly when he speaks.

"Sorry. I..."

"I know, Danny. I've felt that loss too." I don't ever remember feeling this awkward, except around Maddie in college. Is this what it's like to care for someone? I hadn't realized I was so cold to the world before. Maybe I ought to have gone back further, maybe had a chat with myself at twenty-one? No, that wouldn't have worked. I wasn't listening to anyone then, certainly not some old man in a business suit. Daniel sniffs again.

"So, what's the plan going to be?"


	5. The Morning After

_Thanks to Snickerer, Toronada Silverwind,Sanne-chan, MissMune, heavensong, Yami-chan and Unrealistic, a light amongst shadows, Chibi Hime, and anyone who faved or reviewed while I've been MIA. Yes, I know it's been a while…_

**Chapter 5: The Morning After**

I wake up in the Fentons' guest bedroom to the smell of pancakes, but I stay in bed for a few minutes just enjoying the mood. It's odd, you can sleep in absolute luxury for twenty years and yet you never wake up feeling at peace with the world until you're somewhere imperfect and near friends. I'm going to miss this, but I don't belong here and it's foolish to think that I do.

After a couple minutes of staring at the ceiling with summer light coming through the blinds, I get up and dress, then make my way downstairs to the kitchen. Maddie turns from the stove and gives me a smile. I smile back and take a seat at the table. It feels surreal, knowing this is only a brief respite from my life, knowing that this is the last day I'll ever be happy.

"It'll be a few minutes before breakfast, Vlad," Maddie tells me. "Jack's in the basement, if you want to go visit."

Tempting, actually, but I spent most of last night with Jack, laughing and tinkering like we used to do in college. But now, I want to spend time with my dear Maddie, before I leave this time and place forever. Besides, there really _is_ only so much ghost-inspired enthusiasm a man can take.

"I'd rather not," I say. "A few of those inventions look rather unsettling." And since I know they hone in on Daniel, I'd rather not take chances. If Jack and Maddie knew about me… Well, for starters, that could set Plasmius off early.

"Oh, they're only bad if you're a ghost!" Maddie says blithely. "They don't hurt humans at all. You know that." Right. That's what she said about the Proto-Portal too. I'm not making the mistake of completely believing that again, even from her.

"Still…"

"You always were a bit of a coward, Vlad." She busies herself with spatula and ladle so she won't have to meet my eyes. The Vlad she knows would have lost control for a moment, but me, I know I'm a coward now and even though it still hurts my pride, it's simply who I am. My pride could use the wounding.

Before the conversation between us can get any more awkward, Jazmine arrives in the kitchen and proceeds to ignore me as she starts setting the table. Well, except for the occasional elbow or well placed foot. She really is protective of her brother, isn't she?

Maddie finishes cooking breakfast and disappears downstairs to fetch Jack. Jazmine heads off to find Daniel, and I? I sit and stare off into space for a moment, running over potential conversation openers. I only have one chance at this, and it has to go well.

I'm jolted back to reality by Jack's feet on the stairs and shouting about "Fenton Flapjacks." Upstairs, Danny's protesting about being woken up, if I'm hearing correctly. I can understand that, given that we only went to bed a few hours ago, but he needs to get up. I neatly fold my napkin and lay it beside my plate.

"It sounds like Daniel's having a little trouble getting out of bed this morning," I chuckle. "I'll go see how he's doing. Don't wait for us, please." I'm gone before they can protest, and hear Jack's happy munching all the way to the stairs.

I find Jazmine attempting to pull her brother out of bed while verbally berating him with everything she can think of. Obviously she's not getting anywhere, and I cross the floor to kneel next to Daniel's face, laying a calming hand on the girl's shoulder as I pass.

"Daniel," I hiss, giving his shoulder a shove. "I think you're forgetting something."

"Fwhun?"

"The plan, Danny. You, me, downstairs? Your parents? _Wisconsin_?"

"Vlad?" He rubs his eyes a little. Well, it's a start.

"Yes. Now come on, we need to leave in an hour." I grab a wrist protuding from the bedsheets and give it a yank. At this rate I'm going to have to stoop to incenti–

"Awright, awright, I'm up. Happy?" He runs a hand through his hair to get rid of the worst of the bedhead and grabs his clothes off the floor.

"Very. I'll see you downstairs." Or not. Where on _earth_ was Jazmine hiding that?

"Wisconsin, Danny?" she spits past me. "You agreed to _Wisconsin_?" She turns her face back to me. "What did you do to him, Vlad?"

"It's only for a few days, Jazmine. I need your brother's help with something important, and then he'll be returned to you, free of charge. I promise."

She's still got that gun raised. I don't think she believes me.

"It's true, Jazz. We were up all night talk–" Daniel yawns, "–king, and we've got a plan all ready, and he needs me to help carry it out. It's important."

I wrap a hand around the barrel digging into my stomach, and sigh. Jazmine isn't going to let this go without knowing more of the details.

"I'm not the Vlad you remember, Jazmine," I begin.

"You kidnapped him _two days_ ago."

"Ten years ago, actually." I give her a soft smile and try to move the ectogun. "I'm from the future, Jazm– Jazz. In my timeline I do some terrible things, things I still can't really believe myself capable of, and I've come back to your present to stop myself. But I need Daniel's help."

"Are you saying you _didn't_ blackmail him?" she asks harshly.

I shrug. "Either he helps me, or the world ends."

"Leave it, Jazz," Daniel growls. "I believe him, and I'm going to Wisconsin. End of story."

She lowers the gun, finally. "Then I'm coming with you."

"No!" Please tell me I'm not starting to feel protective? "I mean, Jazmine, you could be killed and I'm not about to endanger anyone needlessly." She responds with a look that says she knows I just admitted to knowingly endangering her brother. I drop eye contact.

"And that means no Sam or Tucker either, okay?" Danny puts in forcefully, then pushes past the two of us and heads to the washroom. I give Jazmine a warning glance and follow him out the door.

A minute later I'm back at the kitchen table, beside Jazmine, chatting away with my friends as if nothing ever happened between us. Daniel entered, looking blearily, grumpy, and resigned, and spears a stack of pancakes for his own plate. The conversation goes on, and I gradually steer it towards Daniel's life, and, more importantly, his unexplained absence from school several days ago and the bad influence of his friends. Daniel plays along perfectly, as we planned, and by the end of the fantastic meal, it's been agreed that he'll come back to Wisconsin with me for a while to clean up his act.

Of course, he and I both know that won't happen, but I wish it were true. I could teach that boy some remarkable things that would make his problems disappear. And I'm not talking about embezzlement.


End file.
